An Easterly View
by yourmirroroferised
Summary: Bill finally sees the meaning of all that they suffered through. And he has help.


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters depicted herein. BSG is the property of RDM and the various entities to which it belongs. I am simply filling my leisure thoughts on paper.

A/N: This is just a little tiny story snippet I had bopping around in my head for so long, I had to do something about it. So here it is. Reviews and feedback are always enjoyed and appreciated. Please listen to .com/watch?v=UVmnfRQSgvw while reading. It was created with this song in mind.

One room, four corners. That was all the Admiral had needed in his plans for this cabin. It should have been larger; it should have held another occupant, perhaps his children, their rag-tag family. But as the cabin stood, it was just one lonely Adama who shivered in his rack that night, his only company the wind. The gusts danced around the corners, and jumped on the roof, making fun of his heart-filled, but unskilled effort. Bill had poured his soul into this cabin, but soul would not teach a man how to hew boards that interlocked perfectly, or help him create caulk that stayed. And now the snow was beginning to lounge in the corners of his tiny cottage.

The wind had chided him several times in the past few months: _Go back to your metal ship, old man. You have no reason to be up here. This is our sacred ground, and you have no reason to invade. _

But the wind was wrong; he had _had_ a reason to take up residence in the lonely mountains. But that reason was now buried on the top of the crag on which he was perched. A sharp flurry laughed at his loneliness and misery. Adama felt small and childish. The snow outside had drifted to heights not seen since his younger days. He was once again waist deep in drifts. But instead of jubilation and games, the wintery white simply realized his stark isolation. But he eventually shivered his way to slumber.

Bill snapped from sleep as the door was flung open by the wind. His fire had gone out, and all he could see was the outline of a woman with wild-fire hair, the bright of the snow outlining her body. Bill lay captivated for just a moment. He was not sure what to do. But the woman didn't let him decide. She stepped over the threshold, and before Bill knew what was happening, she held his hand in hers. He studied the face of his guide, and could almost recognize her. If Laura had never been sick, if she had never had to deal with those terrible last days, if she had not been shredded by so much loss, this is exactly what her face would have been. It was perfect, so wonderful Bill was forced to look away, chocking back a sob.

Laura led him out the door of the cabin and up the hillside. All the while, she was talking to him:

"Bill, I have missed you so much. I have things I want to tell you so badly. About what happens next, the shape of things to come. All the pain, all the things that tore us apart before, none of them matter!" It seemed that she was laughing, but instead of her voice carrying the sound, the wind jingled and the snow shimmered.

Finally they reached the top of the mountain. From there, Bill could see. He could see everything for which all his fighters, his friends, his family had died. Humanity and the children of humanity were mixing together, creating camps, becoming tribes. He could see, from this vantage point, the tiny dancing lights of camp fires on all sides. This was the answer. This was all he needed he would never feel lonely or worthless again. This time, when Laura laughed, he laughed as well, and danced wildly about the top of the mountain, weaving among the rocks and drifts with her to guide him. He didn't worry about slipping, he didn't worry about falling. Laura was there to save him. They stayed there together all night. Bill and Laura were finally home.

_One Month Later_

Saul and Ellen managed to locate the old man's raptor. It was time to check in on him. They knew he would be alone by now, Laura could not have made it much longer than a month. Lee came with them as they scaled the lower mountains of the terrain. On reaching the cabin, the party was left completely silent. The door to the cabin had been ripped off its hinges and snow had blown into the room. But it was also empty.

"It's been this way for weeks!" Lee cried the obvious.

"But where the frak did your old man go?" Saul grumbled.

They decided to continue up the peak in hopes of catching a glimpse of Bill's latest settlement. The top of the mountain provided another shock. Bill Adama was there, they had found his permanent settlement. He was barefoot, in his pajamas, laying next to what they assumed was the grave of Laura Roslin.

"Poor man froze to death." Tigh muttered in stunned awe.

"But he was with the woman he loved." Ellen sighed.

They all knew it was better this way. Bill himself had said that he couldn't live without her.


End file.
